Some different shots

We passed this church on our open air bus tour and I have no idea what it's called. Like all the churches in Paris, it sure was beautiful from the outside.



The McCarthy's as they head out for some family time!
The old Paris Opera Ballet builing. I'll have pictures of the inside later. We stopped in on Friday to see if we could tour the building but the ballet was rehearsing. The girls really wished they could've seen that rehearsal!
I just liked this lamp post!

Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre Dame Cathedral was truly amazing. Just the size alone was stunning. The architecture was beautiful with so many small statues, gargoyles (my favorite), stained glass windows and ornate alter. I wish I had gone all around the building to see the flying buttresses that are on the back. We didn't have time to visit the crypt but I'm sure it would be interesting. (remember you can make the picture larger by clicking on it)

Hmm, are there bats in the belfry? The kids loved climbing to the top of Notre Dame and seeing the gargoyles and the view was wonderful.

The building in the distance is Sacre Coeur.



I wonder how many feet have climbed these steps. They were old and worn and a challenge to climb up and down. Fortunately you climbed up one tower and walked across to the other to go down. The bell keeper must have had some strong leg muscles!

Lee among the gargoyles!

Paris-Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower pictures in no particular order! (Be sure to keep going, I added two days)

Wish it had been a clear day. Watch for more pictures of the Eiffel Tower from the last day, once I work through the rest of the pictures. (Hope this blog doesn't have a max!)

Diane





Marge was a little scared about being up so high!

Paris-the first night-Champ Elysee

The first night we were in Paris our group headed to the Arch de Triumph after eating in a resturant near the hotel. We walked from the Metro stop past the stores and hotels that lined the street. Cars and motorcycles raced by on the cobblestones. There were little stands in the middle of the street where you could get that perfect shot head on of the Arch de Triumph but I was too chicken to go stand in the middle of the Paris traffic!

We climbed the spiral staircase (there were LOTS of ancient spiral staircases in Paris!-ask Lee's knees!) to the top. The view was beautiful and even though it was overcast you could still see the lights of the Eiffel Tower. When we got to the bottom, the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle and the kids were so excited to see it.

Diane
Building on the Champs Elysess

Eiffel Tower from the Arch de Triumph

Champ Elysee from the Arch de Triumph Kids in front of the Arch de Triumph
Arch de Triumph

Hotel la Paiva-This ones for you Mom!

Party Time

O.K. what more can I say. The going away party was AWESOME! Give dancers music to dance to and what do they do? DANCE! It was a great time with everyone joining in on the fun. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Diane

Castles

Here are the castles of Chambord and Chenonceaux. I wish the weather had been nicer but you really got the feeling of what it must've been like living in the castle on a cold, dreary day. The castles weren't heated, although both had fireplaces with a fire burning so you could warm up. Lee had nice warm hands at Chambord when I thought mine were going to freeze! Chambord has a double helix staircase that was designed by da Vinci. It was cool to walk up it! There were lots of rooms to visit, including a small chapel. Chenonceaux had rustic kitchens and special rooms for different needs (butchery, baking, herbs). It also had a hall with a black and white tiled floor that stretched across the river. The river was running high on this spring day! Although I wasn't there, I heard that some of the dancers found posing like the pictures and statues a fun adventure. Unfortunately, this wasn't looked upon as being respectful and I have to commend them for changing their ways for the rest of the trip. Chenonceaux had a hedge maze that the kids found real easy to solve. It wasn't hard as you could see over the top of the hedges. I also like chenonceaux because it was "Diane's Castle". I had a beautiful blue bed and room. I've included a picture of me over the mantle. (Looks nothing like me I know, but maybe in another life!) Once again, wish I had read about these two castles before visiting them. Also there are many other castles to see and visit in the Loir Valley. Erin's host family gave me a book telling about each one.

(Sorry about the order of the posts. I had been able to move them the other day, but its not working today.)

Diane